Cycling UK Forum

...odd trips into town mostly. Only a couple of miles but stonking great hill (home is 80m higher than town).

Is http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65534#dtab a BSO or a good deal? I hear good and bad things about Apollos.

BSO. if bought at my local halfords it would be a poorly assembled BSO.

You're probably right - I just spotted the revealing text:

"*Higher price charged between 14/06/2011 & 04/07/2011."

Trans. - not a genuine special offer at all; never intended to sell for £300.

Probably best to look out (or build up) a decent hybrid. Plenty for sale on here and other fora.

Nooooo! Don't go near it! Cheap bikes are the pits.
It only comes in one size.
Go to a shop where they are having a sale and get her
to try a few bikes out in her size.
A bike that takes a rack and mudguards would be good.
Loads of shops sell decent hybrids. You can swap over the tyres for a bit of extra speed.

I had an apollo when I was a lad. I loved it, it did the job for when we went out on family cycles, or small trips to the shops/to my paper round and back. I had it for a good few years. I don't remember there being any problems with it. But then, I didn't know any better. Had I known then what I know now, I would've persisted and asked for a road bike, not a mountain bike.

But I'd agree with everyone else, and after looking at a few BSO articles. You get what you pay for...

karlt wrote:You're probably right - I just spotted the revealing text:

"*Higher price charged between 14/06/2011 & 04/07/2011."

Trans. - not a genuine special offer at all; never intended to sell for £300.

I'm glad you found that....I thought the £300 price tag was hugely optimistic for a thing like that, with the cheapest fittings that Shimano are prepared to put their name on.....but I stand to be accused of bias!

Judging from the number of "hybrids" sold, and the number I see actually being ridden, you should be able to pick one up secondhand that has been out of the garage about twice in 3 years? I guess £100 would get something quite tasty secondhand?

If she wants a bike, rather than just fancies the idea of a bike, you need to spend money. The BSO offering from Halfords is just that - a Bike Shaped Object.

My suggestion is to look for a good bike secondhand. You need mudguards and a rack, you need a good range of gears - and low enough so she can get home with the shopping up the stonking great hill. Also good brakes for going down it!

Visit a few LBSs and see what's available - some shops have secondhand bikes as well as brand new. Try some out and see how she gets on, it's all good information to store in the grey matter until you find the right bike, but stay away from £200 "bargains" - but then again, have a look at them and see what you DON'T want!

Good luck, and keep us posted how you get on.

Low gears really are the issue. She does have a bike, but it's got a SA 3 speed and there's no way she'd contemplate heading east out of Chesterfield on the Bolsover road on that. Those who know the area will know exactly what I mean. The main section rises 70m in around 700m horizontal - an average of 10%, with the steepest section around the 12-15% mark. Maintaining any kind of cadence up that is going to take some very low gearing. And going down it needs the sort of brake levers that don't bend when you pull hard on them.

And the forks on the right way round

Going to look in the 2nd hand market. She's hoping to spend less than £150, because it won't have that much use..

karlt wrote:.......Going to look in the 2nd hand market. She's hoping to spend less than £150, because it won't have that much use..

Beware the self-fulfilling prophesy......I won't be using it much, so a cheap one will be OK.......if you go too cheap, its so awful you won't ride it at all!

I was lucky enough to get my first bike second hand off Ebay. It was £90 and was a Probike, and while not top of the range as bikes go, it was a very decent bike considering the price I believe they sell for even new.

It was pretty much like the Enterprise on the Probike website http://www.probikecycles.com/700CHybrid ... x?Bikeid=2 and was not a BSO - no plastic brakes or nasty bits, and the gearing it came with was fine for me as a complete novice in Leeds which is very hilly. I also found the saddle very comfy for an upright riding position.

No prices on their website but try looking for them secondhand or using their site to find a dealer near you and ask how much they cost - they seem to me like decent bikes for the price.

Do you know what frame size would be likely to fit her? Mine was 17", this MTB one is 16". http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PROBIKE-CAPRI ... 43aa85e154

Might be worth a look
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=13006&f_SupersetQRY=C431&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003155c018333c018337

Or Carrera Subway from Halfords is popular
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_551281_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

This is £50, you could send a message to ask about the gearing http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ladies-bike-P ... 1e68015acc

EDIT: And this is I think exactly what I got, although mine was second hand and this one is new for £149 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Probike-Enter ... 415aac5777

+1 for the Halfords Subway. Massive gear range down to just 18"! Disc brakes for that big hill. And, this weekend instead of £300 they are £240. The Apollo range has a poor reputation, but the Subway is a quality bike at a very reasonable price.

Al

Looking for a Subway on eBay. Found one, but there seem to be some 14 speed ones out there (need the triple for That Hill) and it's not clear from the picture (you'd think people'd include that information, wouldn't you?) so I've sent a message on.